What Are Chakras? The Seven Chakras and Chakra Healing

Chakras are centres of subtle energy that Indian yogic and tantric traditions place along the body, from the base of the spine to the crown. The Sanskrit word chakra means "wheel", and each centre is linked to qualities such as security, love or intuition. They are a meditative map, not physical structures, and science hasn't shown that they exist.

Chakras come up often in my energy work. I'm Michelle Virtue, a certified Reiki Master Practitioner, and I also read as a psychic medium in London. This guide explains where the idea comes from, sets out the seven chakras as they're taught in the West, explores chakra healing and how it relates to Reiki, and gives you an honest summary of what the evidence does and doesn't support.

Where chakras come from

The chakra idea grew out of Indian spiritual traditions over many centuries. Ideas about subtle channels of breath and energy in the body are very old in Indian thought, and detailed systems of chakras developed within medieval tantric traditions, in Hindu and Buddhist forms. The same traditions speak of a sleeping power, kundalini, said to rise through the centres. These texts were meditation manuals. Practitioners visualised each centre with particular shapes, colours, deities and sacred sounds as part of a disciplined spiritual practice.

One thing surprises many people: the old texts don't agree on a single system. Different traditions described different numbers of chakras, sometimes four, five, six or more, in different places. The seven-chakra model familiar today draws largely on one particular tantric text, which became widely known in the West through Sir John Woodroffe's book The Serpent Power, published under the pen name Arthur Avalon in 1919. It translated the Ṣaṭ-cakra-nirūpaṇa, a tantric text describing six centres plus the crown.

Much of what Western readers now associate with chakras came later. The rainbow colour scheme, the link to psychological themes such as self-esteem, and the idea of chakras being "blocked" or "balanced" were largely shaped by twentieth-century Western writers and the New Age movement. That doesn't make the modern system useless, but it's honest to know it's a blend of ancient and modern ideas.

The seven chakras at a glance

This is the seven-chakra system as it's usually taught in yoga classes and energy healing in the UK. The themes are the modern Western associations.

In modern teaching each chakra is also given a colour, running from red at the root up through orange, yellow, green, blue and indigo to violet or white at the crown. Chakras are often linked to the aura, the field of energy believed to surround the body. My article on auras and aura colours explains how the two ideas fit together.

The sixth centre attracts the most curiosity, because it's tied so closely to intuition and psychic sight. If that's what drew you here, I've written a separate piece on the third eye and how it's understood. For the others, the table is a sound place to start. Notice which themes stir something in you as you read down the list, as that's often where your attention is needed most.

What chakra healing involves

Chakra healing is a broad term for practices intended to bring the energy centres into balance. In the modern view, a chakra can be underactive, overactive or "blocked", and this is said to show up in how you feel. For example, a person who feels unsafe and anxious might be told their root chakra needs attention, while someone struggling to speak up might focus on the throat.

Common chakra healing practices include:

• Meditation and visualisation. Focusing on each centre in turn, often picturing its colour.
• Breathwork. Slow breathing directed towards areas of the body.
• Sound. Chanting traditional seed syllables such as "lam" for the root or "om" for the third eye, or using singing bowls.
• Yoga. Postures that are said to relate to particular chakras, such as hip openers for the sacral area.
• Energy healing. Hands-on or hands-off practices such as Reiki.
• Crystals and colour. Using stones or colours associated with each chakra, which is a modern addition.

Used gently, these can be a lovely way to check in with yourself. The chakra map works well as a set of prompts: Do I feel safe? Am I expressing myself? Am I connected to something bigger? You don't need to believe in subtle energy to find those questions useful.

Keep it simple, too. You don't need an expensive set of crystals, a special playlist or a perfect morning routine. Ten honest minutes with your breath and a few questions will do more than any amount of equipment, and it costs nothing.

Reiki and chakras

Reiki began in Japan in the early twentieth century, and the Indian chakra system wasn't part of how it was first taught. Many Western Reiki practitioners have since combined the two, so it's common for a Reiki session to include hand positions that line up with the chakras or for the practitioner to describe energy in those terms.

In my own sessions, I use the chakra map as one helpful language among others. I'll explain what I'm noticing in plain terms and never tell you that a chakra is "broken" or that something terrible is wrong. If you'd like to experience it, you can find out more about my Reiki and energy healing in London, and if you'd like the background, read my guide to the history and practice of Reiki.

Reiki and chakra work are complementary practices. They can sit alongside medical care but never replace it, and any physical symptoms deserve a proper check with your GP first.

What the evidence says about chakras

There is no scientific evidence that chakras exist as physical or energetic structures. Anatomists haven't found them, and attempts to measure them haven't produced reliable results. Some people point out that several chakra locations sit near major nerve clusters or glands, which is interesting, but it isn't proof that the chakras are real.

That said, many of the practices used in chakra work have their own research. A US government health agency reports that yoga may help with stress, sleep and some kinds of pain, and that mindfulness may ease anxiety and low mood for some people, while slow breathing is recommended by the NHS for calming stress. Those benefits don't depend on the chakra theory being true. The fairest summary is that chakras are a meaningful map within a spiritual tradition, and some of the methods attached to them may help you feel calmer.

Please be cautious of anyone who claims that blocked chakras cause illness, that they can diagnose health problems through chakra readings, or that you should stop medical treatment. Those claims aren't supported, and they can cause real harm. Chakra work is not a substitute for medical, psychological, legal or financial advice.

Meditation and breathwork can occasionally stir up strong feelings or old memories. If a practice leaves you anxious, low or detached for more than a day or two, stop, rest and speak to your GP. If you ever feel you can't stay safe, Samaritans take calls free on 116 123 around the clock.

A simple chakra check-in practice

Try this ten-minute body scan. It works whether you see chakras as energy centres or as helpful reflection points.

1. Get comfortable. Sit upright or lie down. Close your eyes and take five slow breaths.
2. Start at the base. Bring your attention to the base of your spine. Notice any sensation and ask, "Do I feel safe and supported right now?"
3. Move up slowly. Spend about a minute at each centre: lower belly, upper belly, chest, throat, between the brows, and the top of your head.
4. Ask one question at each. Use the themes in the table, such as "Where am I holding back what I want to say?" at the throat.
5. Breathe into anything tense. Simply imagine your breath softening the area. No need to fix anything.
6. Return to the ground. Finish with your attention in your feet and the floor beneath you, then open your eyes.
7. Write a few lines. Which area felt busiest? What did you notice about your feelings today?

Over a few weeks, you may start to see patterns in where you carry tension and which themes keep recurring. That self-awareness is valuable in its own right, whatever you believe about the energy behind it.